(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique of a mower for discharging mowed grasses from a discharge port provided in a side part of a mower deck to an exterior of the mower deck, and a grass mowing machine including the same.
(2) Description of Related Art
Conventionally, there is a known technique of a mower for discharging mowed grasses from a discharge port provided in a side part of a mower deck to an exterior of the mower deck. For example, the technique is as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-278818.
The technique described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-278818 is a mower in which a discharge port for discharging grasses mowed by rotary blades is provided in a side part of a mower deck, a guide member for guiding the mowed grasses from the discharge port to the laterally outer side is provided, the guide member is formed in such a manner that a posture is changeable to a standing posture of standing and a folding posture of folding, and a retaining mechanism for retaining the guide member at the standing posture is provided.
In the mower formed in such a way, by retaining the guide member at the standing posture, the guide member does not easily protrude to the laterally outer side of the mower deck. Thereby, at the time of performing a mulching task (mowing task performed without discharging the mowed grasses to the laterally outer side of the mower deck), the grasses can be easily mowed with the mower deck moved against a wall or the like, so that workability can be improved. In a case where a grass mowing machine provided with the mower is conveyed or stored in a garage, a space can be saved.
However, generally in the mower as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-278818, the guide member is molded by a material which is not easily elastically deformed such as resin and iron. The guide member is formed by a top plate and side plates standing downward from the top plate in order to guide the mowed grasses. Therefore, even when the guide member is retained at the standing posture, a side plate part of the guide member protrudes to the laterally outer side of the mower. Thus, disadvantageously, there is a fear that a part (side plate part) of the guide member is brought into contact with an obstacle and the like at the time of working, conveying, storing, or the like.